Apply for an Internship

FIT internships are carefully assigned, structured, and monitored to provide the most appropriate and valuable experience for each student.

In many majors, internships are an integral part of the student's course of study, and the academic credit earned is required for graduation. In other situations, students may take an internship on a supplemental-credit basis.

Career and Internship Services runs a two-pronged credit-bearing academic program comprised of:

  • On-site professional experience supervised by an organization executive that helps develop a student's competitive edge and networking skills. It encourages students to be introspective, observant, and analytical while applying skills learned in the classroom.
  • Classroom instruction empowers students to make their work site experiences as productive as possible and teaches them how to successfully market themselves throughout their careers.

Credit-bearing internships are taken as a 3-credit course, and students contribute at least 123 hours over 12 weeks to fulfill their work requirements (7 weeks during the summer). 

International students: Please be aware that you cannot intern more than 20 hours a week during fall, winter, and spring, or more than 40 hours a week during summer session. For more information, students on an F-1 Visa should speak with an advisor in the Office of International Student Services.

How to Apply

All students will receive an email at the beginning of each semester with detailed internship application instructions. This webpage contains a general overview of the process.  

QUESTIONS? You are invited to attend an internship information session. To RSVP, log in to CSJB and click on the events tab to select a session.

To qualify for a credited internship:

  • You must be matriculated in a degree program.
  • You must be in the second half of that degree program at the time of the internship.
    (Exception: Film and Media BS students intern in their 6th semester.)
  • You must have a GPA of 3.0 in an associate's degree program or a GPA of 2.5 in a bachelor's degree program.
    (Exception: Production Management AAS students must have a GPA of 2.5.)

You must complete the internship application the semester BEFORE you want to intern.

To apply for a credited internship:

  1. Log into your CSJB account.
  2. Complete the Credited Internship Application. 
  3. Upload a one-page resume as part of the application.

If you qualify for an internship, you will receive an approval email and counselor assignment, along with detailed information and instructions about the Credited Internship Program.

Requests are approved on a first come, first served basis. You will not be able to register for an internship class without completing the application process. 

Schedule an appointment to meet with your assigned counselor using CSJB.

After you receive your counselor assignment, you will be able to see which course you need to register for from within your Credited Internship account.

NOTE: Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Production Management, and Menswear students must attend a special orientation that is set up those major programs.

You will receive information about attending orientation either in person or online.

You must partner with your IC instructor to keep your worksite on track and assure that you are being given opportunities to learn what has been agreed upon between you and your supervisor.

This includes notifying your instructor as soon as you notice that the plan outlined on your Learning Agreement may be going off track.

It is part of your instructors job to help you develop/hone your self-advocacy skills to help you identify the appropriate language to use in negotiating with your supervisor to get your Learning Agreement plan back on track.

If your supervisor fails to respond to your requests, your instructor will get more involved by speaking/meeting with your supervisor in an effort to eliminate the problem.

In the rare circumstances where neither you nor your instructor is successful at righting the situation/getting your Learning Agreement plan back on track, the IC may remove you from that worksite and place you in another for the balance of the semester.

Please remember that it is against college policy for you to remove yourself from your worksite without IC involvement and approval. The penalty for doing so is an F in the entire course.

Regarding the classroom component of their internships, students must:

  • Attend all classroom sessions.
  • For fall and spring internships, there are six classroom sessions of two hours each.
  • For summer internships, there are six classroom sessions of two hours each.
  • Honor all Internship Center policies regarding classroom attendance.
  • Failure to attend the first classroom session of the new semester carries a very severe penalty that could result in the loss of a letter grade.
  • Two three grade points (there are 10 grade points in each letter grade) will be deducted for each late arrival.
  • Three unexcused late arrivals equal one unexcused absence.
  • Interns will lose up to 10 grade points for an unexcused absence.
  • Students with three unexcused absences can expect to get a grade of D or lower for the course.
  • Fulfill all written and oral internship assignments.

Students may attend FIT after having earned credits at another college or university.  While FIT internships are highly prized by our FIT students and our connection to the fashion industry and New York is extensive, some students may wish to apply for the consideration of transfer credit for a college credit-bearing internship performed at another college. 

Appropriateness of the previous credit-bearing class will be considered for its similarity (curriculum, content, and hours).  An industry standard of similarity will be used and the decision is solely that of FIT. 

Please submit written requests with a copy of your previous academic record to the Director of the Career and Internship Center.

FELONY CONVICTION CERTIFICATION POLICY FOR INTERNSHIPS

I understand that, consistent with SUNY policy, FIT will not inquire into criminal history in admissions applications and instead asks about criminal history only after acceptance in order to determine eligibility to participate in housing/residential life, study abroad, an internship, or certain clinical or field experiences (each a “covered activity”). I certify that I have not been convicted of a felony or, if I have, that I have disclosed the conviction and undergone review by FIT’s standing committee on prior felony convictions and have been approved to participate in this specific covered activity. I understand that if I have been convicted of a felony and have not received approval from the standing committee to participate in this specific covered activity, I am required to notify FIT so that the standing committee may review my conviction in accordance with the FIT policy on Admission of Persons with Prior Felony Convictions.